Port enters into discussion over land dispute between L'Auberge, Golden Nugget

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) -

The Port of Lake Charles held a special meeting Monday to finally begin hashing out a land dispute between two casinos six years in the making.

The land dispute centers on 15 acres between the Golden Nugget, formerly Ameristar, and L'Auberge casinos.

It began when L'Auberge owners, Pinnacle Entertainment, planned to build the Sugarcane Bay Casino next to L'Auberge.

"Originally, the agreement when this was put together, probably about six years ago now, was that a separate company would be formed and the two companies would share that particular space," said Bill Rase, executive director of the Port of Lake Charles.

Sugarcane Bay was scrapped, and eventually the Golden Nugget got control of the new casino location. Now, the two casinos are trying to make a deal with the port.

"We're going to enter into the final agreement to set up those 15 acres, so that each of them will share seven and half, seven and half acres between the two of them, and develop some type of project that would be mutually beneficial to both parties," said Rase.

Although it's in the early stages, the hope is that the port can help both L'Auberge and the Golden Nugget come to an agreement that will benefit both companies as well as the City of Lake Charles.

Rase said the port isn't sure what the either casino will build.

"It'll be something landscaped nice, it may be RV parking it could be a number of things ... we don't really know what the final will look like today, but we want to have the ability to move quickly," he said.

The port also reports that the two casinos have agreed that the area in question will allow people and vehicles to pass through freely, so patrons can visit both locations easily.

The City of Savannah held a press conference on Sunday afternoon to looks at the numbers collected from the St. Patricks Day parade. Mayor Eddie DeLoach took the opportunity to speak on the parade, saying "Savannah was on display, our people were on display. We did a great job showing Savannah at its best. Our City employees have been working around the clock and I am so proud of the hard work they put in to making this a great festival and keeping everyone safe."

The City of Savannah held a press conference on Sunday afternoon to looks at the numbers collected from the St. Patricks Day parade. Mayor Eddie DeLoach took the opportunity to speak on the parade, saying "Savannah was on display, our people were on display. We did a great job showing Savannah at its best. Our City employees have been working around the clock and I am so proud of the hard work they put in to making this a great festival and keeping everyone safe."